It says much about the scrambled thinking at the top of European football that
options under discussion at Uefa HQ include, on the one hand, an attempt to
“beef up” the Europa League and, on the other, the idea of the competition
being devoured by a gluttonous Champions League.

Michel Platini acknowledged yesterday that the expansion of the Champions
League, from 32 to 64 clubs, is an option that is under discussion as Uefa
looks to restructure its club competitions.

“There is an ongoing debate to determine what form the European competitions
will have between 2015 and 2018,” the Uefa